A: We got a lot of effort. I knew we were going to come out and compete and play hard. Does that always add up to a win? Not all the time, but I knew we were going to go out and lay it all out there for 40 minutes. We had a rough patch, which we knew was coming. Purdue's too good of a team, too well coached, and they have too much talent. We took that run and turned it right back around. It was great for this group. It was great for them to take a couple hits and get right back up and throw some hits.

Q: Were you waiting for a game like this from Billy (Oliver)?

A: He's got it in him. Not to just do it once-in-a-while either; he's got it in him. He's got to play with great confidence. Tim (Frazier) got him wide-open shots and when Billy plays like that it really opens up things for Tim, too. So now, you don't know who to stop, which is a good thing. Jermaine (Marshall) chipped in as a third scorer, which was great. So hopefully we have our three scorers nailed down here.

A: Huge. I just talked about that in the locker room. Eleven rebounds, 2-for-2 from the free throw line, five assists, one turnover, two steals. Just awesome minutes, no question in my mind he's probably going to win our little Attitude Club because of his efficiency and effectiveness. He did a lot of great things, but everyone needs that type of guy who's going to go out and play hard, stop the other guy, do the little things, take care of the ball. When it's his time to shoot, shoot, but you need guys like this. Matt Glover just keeps getting better and better.

A: Nick played hard in practice. Team was off on Tuesday and he played hard. I don't care who you are; last guy on the bench or Tim Frazier. If you're going to come out and compete for two days through two grueling practices and you show me something, you're going to play.

Q: What was the thought behind those two grueling practices?

A: I just felt that on the road we gave in a little bit to the environment and our youth and inexperience. We all had plenty of excuses. I'm all about being positive, but no excuses; you either get it done or you don't. You're either going to play hard for 40 minutes or you're not. That's what I'm trying to teach these guys. We were still in that Northwestern game, down two possessions, eoight minutes to go and I felt like we were giving into the scoreboard. We can't do that anymore. Even Michigan, I didn't feel like we were blown out, I felt like we were, again, scoreboard watching. We have to play hard for 40 minutes and whatever the outcome is, that's the outcome.

Q: The win's great, but how important was the effort?

A: It's terrific and you have Tim and Sasa (Borovnjak) diving at the end, we were up 20 points at that point. That's the way we want to play for 40 minutes and that's the only way to play. We don't have lottery picks, but collectively as a unit, if everyone does their job and competes hard for 40 minutes, you never know what will happen.

Q: Is it harder to coach a team after a 20-point win than a tough loss?

A: There's no doubt. Human nature sets in. You won a big game and beat a great team, an NCAA Tournament team. I'm not pulling back at all. I told Tim, get ready to practice and practice hard tomorrow and that's what we have to do. If I let up a little bit, they let up a little bit and we're not going to win what Sunday brings. And they want it.

It feels great. The adrenaline is still running right now. We're all pumped up in the locker room. It's a great feeling to get your first Big Ten win.

Comment on long practices leading up to the game.

I don't know if Coach told you guys but we had three-hour practices before the game focusing on our staples. Defending and rebounding. Doing the little things. Diving on the ground. Getting tough rebounds. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to come down and compete. I didn't know what the score was going to be at the end of the game but we were going to compete.

Q: How important was this win?

The next game is always the most important game. Two losses in two road games and we finally get back home and we wanted to get that win, and move on now to Indiana.

Q: How are you able spread the ball offensively?

It's just knowing my teammates. My teammates are great. We practice all the time. We come in late together and work out. And throughout the game if I'm going down the lane with three or four guys around me I know someone's open and it's just finding those guys.

#35 Bill Oliver
Redshirt Jr., Forward

Q: What was working for you tonight?

It's about time a couple fell. It's a testament to (Tim Frazier) driving the wing. He's got four guys on him and somehow he still picks out a pass and puts it in the shooting pocket. All the hard work comes from him and the other guys creating my shots.

Q: What makes a night like this happen?

Every day you have to start form shooting and get back working hard. And that's not just me, it's the entire team coming in extra, coming in at night. Some day's you're feeling it and, like I said, it's the other guys who are getting me the shots.

Q: Can you talk about the total team effort tonight?

That's what we want our Penn State identity to be - a team, together. Five guys rushing the ball on defense. Five guys rebounding. Matt(Glover) made huge rebounds for us. Nick (Colella) came in and hit that three. Nick did everything we asked him to do. It was a great job by all those guys.

PURDUE HEAD COACH MATT PAINTER

Q: Was tonight a humbling game for you?

First of all I thought Penn State played hard, and we didn't. Outside of D.J. Byrd I don't think we had a guy play hard. We definitely didn't play smart. I thought Tim Frazier was very good, even though he took a lot of shots. He's a tough player to corral. Obviously,, Billy Oliver had the best game of his career. If we could have someone to play as hard at Matt Glover; he clearly played harder than anyone who attempted to guard him. He did little things. He gets 11 rebounds, 5 assists, two steals. He just made a lot of hustle plays for them and that's something we really prided our program on in terms of doing whatever it takes. Guarding, rebounding, being unselfish, and tonight we didn't guard. We didn't rebound. We were selfish, and when that happens against guys who play well you're going to get humbled.

Q: It seemed like you guys couldn't get into a rhythm?

Our guys won a couple games and thought they were fat and sassy. They thought it was a three-game Big Ten tournament. You have to play 18 of them and you have to be hooked up every single night. Our guys weren't ready to play. We had poor leadership. Our seniors didn't have our guys ready, and our seniors weren't ready themselves. When you play that way, when you don't have good leadership and guys don't play hard, it's going to be a long night.

Q: Penn State changes defenses quite a bit. How did you handle that?

We had some open looks. Ryne Smith had some open looks in the first half. We just have to do a better job of probing the defense. We got in the paint a couple times and those guys were shooting contested floaters. There's a big difference between getting in the paint and kicking the basketball to give your teammates a good shot, or shooting a nice pull up or good floater. But, we were shooting contested floaters, too many contested shots. We had the ball at the rim a couple times and came away with nothing. We just didn't play strong. It's going to look worse when you don't make a shot. But, our bench has been great the past two games and they were awful. They just stood against their zone.

Q: Penn State seemed like they hustle and want to possess the ball?

They play hard, and you lose your first two Big Ten games on the road and you're hungry to get a win. You could see it tonight. Trey Lewis didn't play. (Cameron) Woodyard didn't play. They're putting in guys who are walk-ons or who haven't started before. But, it doesn't mean anything. It's a game of basketball. It's a team sport. They came in and contributed and helped Penn State win. We had guys who didn't do those things. We have to find guys on our team who will help do the little things to help Purdue win because if you don't you're going to get beat.